A volunteer's dream

I doubt that I will be able to communicate my feelings
about what I've seen yesterday. Of course those of you who've
read some of the articles in this blog can agree with me that
I am not a master of the English language.

With that in mind while thinking about how I would put this
article together I realized (well, at least in my limited
vocabulary skills) that I can describe sadness and pain and
negativity easier than happiness. Maybe I need to hit the
dictionary but it just seems that the only way to put it is ...
simple like.

I am happy at what I saw yesterday, a rare claim for us
Peace Corps volunteers. Throughout my years at this
I've heard that statement (I'm happy) ... humm ...
not too often.

What I saw was the Roma Dance Troupe practicing
with a totally new attitude.

Before the trip to Constanta it looked like they were just  

going through the motions.

But ...

Yesterday it was as if they were different people. They
were happy and having fun but also serious about the
new routine that they were as a team

 putting together. Before it was just a ...
yeah, yeah, yeah style of practicing.

When I saw that I was totally shocked (happily).
At first Stefan (before leaving for the trip) mentioned
that he thought that the dance troupe's tour to Constanta
wasn't anything special. I explained to him that I thought

that the experiences that the kids would get,
was real the goal. The dancing was just the
medium to make it happen. I hoped that the dancers
seeing other troupes would make them think. They
just needed to get out of this town and see new things.

 Well, it worked, and 50 times better than in my wildest dreams.
I thought that there would be some change but nothing so
quick and drastic. I could see that they took a part from
a dance routine of one of the other troupes and added some
imaginative ones of their own.

A few of the girls got a bunch of bottle caps and hammered
them flat and made holes in them, then they attached them
around their waists. When they dance it gives the sound
of something similar to little symbols of a tambourine,
what an impact it adds to their dance routines.

They also saw the dresses of some other girls and realized that
their dresses were too tight and not flowing enough. A few
went to the market place last Thursday looking for a
flowing skirt. A few must have went through their mother's
wardrobe and brought a couple to the practice. It is just
positive energy and great to see.

Here is why I am happy. Throughout the years I have
evolved an opinion on development and change. I have
found that money thrown around wildly isn't the solution.
The crux of the problem is stagnant cycles.

What I mean by that is that ways of life are generally
handed down. Kind of depends on the ancestors/influences.

I am happy about the dance troupe's transformation.
As a result of their trip, they were thinking in a positive
way. The only sustainable thing I've seen so far is that
of the mind and what it learns. If these kids are thinking a
little differently, it isn't only limited to the dancing.
The changing of the mind and the positiveness will
hopefully be revealed in some of their choices in life.

It is similar to my time in Senegal. There it was problems
with health and with basic infections. When I arrived, not
one treated their cuts, infections would set in. This
would lead to workers missing days in the fields.
When you are substinence farming, missing days had an
impact (eating or not) on how the next year's harvest will be.

So, we began a program of teaching the kids how to treat
cuts by cleaning ... etc. I knew that it was a success
(also I was very touched) when a young girl of 6 brought
her 1 year old brother (who was tied to her back) to
my hut for treatment. He had a cut that produced about
a drop of blood. I really couldn't see where the cut
was. But, the thing most incredible about it was that
she did it on her own. I asked her mother if she sent
her daughter with her baby brother to me for treatment.
The little girl's mother said that she didn't know
anything about it.

At that time I knew that changing cycles work. The little
girl will become a mother one day and teach her kids
about treating cuts and the results of that will go on
forever.

A small example but just as relevant as the Roma dancers
acquiring their new outlook and I want to believe ...
pride in being Roma.

Yeah, once in a while things go just they way they're
planned or how a volunteer would want it to be.

As I was sitting there watching the dancers and their new
energy, I had a little attack of nostalgia and thought
about the last 8 years and the little successes here
and there. I thought that I must be blessed to be able
to have seen the things I've seen and received the
unique experiences I've had.

In the end it can sure make a volunteer happy to see
some results.